Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V64
Höfundar / Authors: 1. Margot Kulberg, 2. Haseeb Randhawa, 3. Filipa Samarra
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Masters student, Aquatic Biology & Fisheries program, University of Iceland 2. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland 3. Westman Islands Research Centre University of Iceland, Icelandic Orca Project
Kynnir / Presenter: Margot Kulberg
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) and long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) both occur in Icelandic waters during the summer months, but their interactions are not well understood. These encounters seem antagonistic in nature, in which the pilot whales displace the killer whales, sometimes leading them to abandon feeding events. This change of foraging behavior could lead to long-term energetic effects in the killer whales. The frequencies of interactions as well as their biological purpose are unclear. This project aims to use acoustic monitoring supported by visual data collected in Vestmannaeyjar to investigate these interspecific interactions. Passive acoustic data obtained by a moored hydrophone will be used to detect frequency of presence for each species, and combined with visual data to confirm species identifications as well as observe behaviors during interactions. Data from at least two years of summer field seasons will be analyzed to investigate yearly variation, as well as additional years, if possible. This could lead to a better understanding of interaction frequencies over extended time periods. Exploring the interactions between killer whales and long-finned pilot whales will contribute to the knowledge of their ecological impact and the interspecific interactions of cetaceans in the marine ecosystem.